An update for this story at last? Yes, because it's Christmas. Well... technically anyway.

Please be warned, that by virtue of this story's theme, this is a dark story. Hence, viewer discretion is advised for the latter parts of this chapter. And please note, that I do not bash characters, everything I do has a reason.

Et Cetera

"This just in, the military has been deployed into the city, and the troops are doing the best they can to quell the looters and attempt to restore order –"

"Civilian unrest continues as people demand answers as to the identity of these otherworldly beings that have left hundreds of thousands dead in their wake, and millions more injured –"

"The President of the United Nations is scheduled to make a statement to the citizens in response to the threats and panic, and the ever-rising crime rates which have escalated within the past twelve hours –"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you today not as the Leader of the UN, but as a mere man, and I know that this is a time of terror and panic, of fear and uncertainty, as we as a species have never experienced widespread global destruction on the level that we see it today. Despite your fears, despite your uncertainty, I plead with you, with all of you, not to abandon your humanity. I plead with you, not to forget who you were before this chaos, not to forget that whatever actions you take today, however minor, will spell the fate of humanity, and the path that we as a species have chosen to follow –"

"A mere two hours after the speech by the United Nations President, and reports are coming in that the world major superpowers have elected to utilize a nuclear strategy, to the containment and elimination of the three monsters that are now considered humanity's greatest threat –"

"…And with the subsequent arming of hundreds of nuclear missiles by no less than twenty world powers, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in human history, the doomsday clock has struck midnight."

Irina

7:24pm

Vatican City

I had never expected to meet a scene like this in my entire life.

"Protect his Holiness! Do not let them get closer to him!"

It was like a nightmare, a horrible, dreadful nightmare that made me want to go back into the dorms and crawl under the covers as I pretended nothing was real.

"FATHER! FATHER PLEASE I NEED ANSWERS! FATHER PLEASE!"

"WHY WON'T YOU LET US SPEAK WITH THE FATHER?!"

Part of me still believed that I was dreaming, and that any moment now, Novia-chan would wake me up with a fist to the head, scowling at me and telling me to prepare for morning mass. Part of me believed that I would have dismissed the horrid nightmare as I smiled, shook my head and told her for the umpteenth time that I was a practitioner of the Anglican faith.

"FATHER TELL US! IS THIS THE RAPTURE? ARE THE ANGELS COMING?! WE NEED YOUR GUIDANCE FATHER!"

Except it wasn't a dream. Nothing cemented it more strongly in my mind than the sight of Novia-chan standing a few feet away from me, her teeth gritted in equal frustration as she pushed back the crowds of manic, desperate individuals all eager to flock around His Holiness, all eager to seek his guidance in these troubled times.

"WHERE IS GOD FATHER?! WHERE IS YOUR FUCKING GOD?!"

My eyes widened at the cry of the manic man, and so did Xenovia, as fear gripped me upon witnessing the man in the crowd – the man possessing what I could easily recognize as a sleek pistol.

The moment of distraction caused by the manic cry cost me, as I was elbowed harshly in my right eye, my entire vision smacking black. I resisted the urge to curse as I was unable to keep back the swarm of people gathering around, and from that one single lapse, they came rushing in like Moses striking against the rock in anger.

"Shit! They've broken the perimeter!"

The sound of gunfire ricocheted harshly through my ears, as I turned my limited gaze unto the form of the crazed armed man whose fingers had finally pressed against the trigger, the bullet launching through the air and into the back of the head of a retreating Cardinal.

The wild panic screams came first, adding madder fuel to what seemed to be an unending nightmare, and then the words of the Pope's personal protection force became the uranium of my dread.

"They're armed! They're armed! Open fire – protect His Holiness!"

A part of me, still hoping that this apocalypse had not completely ruined the world, had believed, with wide-eyed optimism that the ammunition fired was going to be rubber bullets, which would serve as a deterrent to the crowd. Despite the fact that they had not made provision for such ammunition beforehand, and despite the fact that the onslaught of looting and chaos throughout the city did not give room for much leniency.

Still, they would not actually try to kill people just because they wanted to meet the pope for answers right?

Right?

The sight of a bullet smashing dead-center, into the head of a young teenage girl in front of me, splashing my face with her blood and wide-eyed gaze of terror brought me to my personal purgatory.

"W-why f-f-father –"

Her final moments, however lucid she could manage, was spent attempting to make the sign of the cross, before she fell back, eyes hollow and lifeless.

The sound of my scream was lost amongst the rain of bullets and cries for mercy.

I wanted to rush over to the men who were gunning down innocents and tell them to stop.

Tell?

No. I wanted to make them stop. To break their bones, to cut off their arms with a swing of my sword, to snap their joints in place and force them to open their eyes and gaze – gaze upon the sight that they had brought – the sight that they were creating.

Except, I didn't have to.

Even amidst a rain of bullets, amidst frantic screams and cries, Novia-chan had heard me.

It was a blur of movement and action, one that my haze-filled mind could barely pay any attention to, yet, I knew, as I heard the sound of gunfire stopping, and the angry screams and yells, I knew that she had taken action.

"H-help me…"

My gaze, tired as it was turned towards the location where I had heard the voice, soft, sweet, innocent –

My heart stopped as I identified the owner, a young girl, so young, so, so, so young –

My feet had moved before my brain had commanded it, and I found myself kneeling at her side.

Her eyes, dull and brown as they were turned up to me even as her entire body shook.

"I-I- I don't wanna die –"

"Shh… You – you're going to be alright okay? You're not going to die – you're going to be just fine –"

Part of me would always wonder, if the lie I had told the girl was for her sakes, or for mine.

My lips were forced into the only smile I could manage to give, yet I couldn't stop the trembling of my hands, nor could I stop my gaze from catching glimpses of her bullet riddled body.

"P-please… p-please help me… p-please…"

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat and ignored the burning sensations I could feel rise up my gullet. I wanted to help her – I desperately wanted to. The fact that no emergency lines were working, that no ambulances would be dispatched, that hospitals were already filled to the brim from the resulting chaos, that I was not a miracle maker – none of that had mattered to me, none of it – all that mattered at that moment, at that instance, was saving the life of the little girl before me.

"Please, Lord. Please – father – Please! If there is one thing I ask of you, just one thing that you should do for me, just one thing and I will never bother you again – Please, please save this girl's life."

My voice cracked.

"Please."

Silence.

Silence and nothingness.

That was all I could perceive as I watched the light in the eyes of the girl before me grow dim, as her final gaze wrenched at my soul, in an almost pitying manner, an almost sympathetic understanding, as if to say:

At least, you tried.

Except, I hadn't.

All I had done was weep and pray – was to believe, to believe that something would happen –

I could have rushed her to the nearest medical van or station, or find the nearest first aid kit or at least I could have tried to do something –

Yet all I had done, was pray.

All I had done… was pray.

"…ina… …rina… IRINA!"

"What?!"

I had flung forth the full weight of my burdened heart upon Xenovia, neither having the mind nor the will nor the faith to do anything else.

Until, I found her, kneeling, her head bowed, as a pristine white feather landed on the ground before me.

My gaze, slow as it was turned to the heavens, and I saw them, descending down upon the earth as beings of ephemeral purpose and power, as guardians of light and foretellers of the Almighty –

The sky was filled with bright light, and like stars ceaselessly, the assembly of Heaven had arrived.

Yet, in spite of the arrival of these beings of hope and of virtue, in spite of watching how people got down on their knees and wept and prayed, and placed their hands up in reverence, in spite of the feeling of joy and elation from the evidence of man's salvation –

I looked unto the body of the dead girl in my arms –

And all I felt, was rage.

Issei

2:54am

Japan

"Wake."

My entire body ached. It burned and it stung, it was sore and tired, and it pleaded with me, repetitively, for me to simply stay down, to rest, to conserve my energy.

"Wake."

Yet, a voice kept beckoning towards me, kept stirring me, reciting that one word as though it were the only thing in the world that mattered. The voice seemed to have no care or concern for how tired I was, or for how I just wanted to merely sleep… to drift into a nice, peaceful sleep filled with large breasts I could use as pillows…

"WAKE."

The voice had washed over me like a physical wave, stirring me to open my eyes –

My heart stopped as I found myself in the presence of two gargantuan, reptilian eyes.

"W-w-wha –" incoherent mutterings came out of my mouth as I glanced around, and found myself floating in a large void of darkness, and the only thing which seemed to be before me was the large eyes.

"Pathetic."

I swallowed dryly, as the creature eventually emerged forward from the darkness, revealing a scaly, red… dragon.

My mind was whirling at a hundred miles a minute in the presence of the creature before me, and bitterly, I realized that my entire body was trembling.

"W-who – w-what –"

I let out a sharp gasp of air, as a series of harsh hacking coughs emerged from my throat. Phlegm and saliva and blood mixed and coalesced in a manner that I had to spit to the side, and no sooner had I turned did my entire body light up in pain.

"Haha! He's still alive after all!"

Everything was hurting, hurting far worse than it had in my weird dream. I had absolutely no sense of direction, and my disorientation was only made worse by the loud, overwhelming sounds of laughter and cacophony.

"W-wha – where –"

Two loud claps echoed into my ears and immediately sent my system wide and alert. It was only until I felt the lingering stings that I realized I had been slapped.

My eyes immediately opened to the fullest, as the first thing that came to my attention was the fact that I was bound, being restricted in a manner that prevented me from moving, and allowing me conclude that I was bound to a chair.

My daze wore off as I realized that despite this fact, I was still moving, and I was able to make out shapes and objects in front of me, which then drew my conclusion that I was inside a spacious vehicle of some sort – most likely a bus.

"Now that we've got your attention boy,"

A sense of dread filled me up as I noticed the men in the vehicle, their orange jumpsuits immediately giving them away as convicts from Akashima Penitentiary.

The first one, a large, buff looking man with bald head and a tattoo wrapped around his left eye gave me a large condescending sneer.

"Never had a pretty boy before. He's definitely much better looking than the ugly fuckers back in that shithole."

My eyes, slowly, surely, and inexplicably widened the very second the man's utterance had left his mouth.

"Y-you can't –!"

A large meaty fist made impact with my mouth and I parted with two of my front teeth. Blood followed the departure, as did my willpower and defiance. I was already weak and delirious from blood loss and my injuries – the compounding effects of more physical damage merely sapped away whatever strength I had left.

"We can do whatever we want, pretty boy. In case you didn't get the memo – the world is fucking over, so that means those who rule are those who have the power to rule."

I glanced around the bus, filled with different men of varying builds and physiques, all laughing in my direction, and it took all I had not to release my bowels and soil myself.

Whatever was left of my mind that wasn't delirious, or agonizing in pain, or contemplating the easiest way to end my suffering, was wondering what had happened to Motohama. It was wondering whether my parents were still safe –

It was wondering if I could just beg them to kill me and save myself any more suffering.

Except, I was a coward.

I was afraid to die.

Even in this mess, in this nightmare, the thought of dying terrified me.

It terrified me more than the thought of living in this apocalypse.

The bald tattooed man gave a large, intimidating grin as he placed his large hand on my head. I could feel the pressure of his phalanges through my hair, hard against my cranium as though all it would take were for him to squeeze and he would crush my skull as easily as a fruit.

I couldn't fight back even if I wanted to, not with one working arm, not in a delirious and pain-ridden state, and certainly not against such odds.

I knew it. The bald man knew it. All the men in the bus knew it, as their sickened grins grew wider and wider.

A small part of me wondered if their expressions right now was the same one I wore whenever I was perving on girls.

It was horrifying.

"The strong take what they can pretty boy, and right now, what we want…" he licked his lips "…Is a nice, little… bitch."

A pair of rough hands tore at my shirt –

And from that point on, I remembered nothing.